25 June, 2008

One of my favourite blogs is written by Birdie. She recently wrote about two graffiti artists who asked permission to spray a piece on her garage door. The post and the results are interesting. Please go and read it.

My son passed this YouTube video on to me this evening.

Some of you long-time readers know how fascinated I am by graffiti, especially in cities like Berlin. It is hard to articulate why, but I have felt this way since the 70s or 80s. In the right setting, in the right moment, I find this form of art stimulating, provocative, and strangely touching.

1 comment:

In our city (Philadelphia) the graffiti was so overwhelming that even the Graffiti "Artists" rebelled against it.

Sometime in the early 1990's the people most affected by the eyesores that sprang up everywhere decided that Murals painted on the blank sides of buildings would be better.

The City arranged for real artists to plan a huge mural and then select some of the Graffiti people to help to paint it.

It worked out very well. Most large spaces on the sides of buildings in the neighborhoods (Not center city) are covered by a nicely painted and relevant mural.

On the subway and commuter trains, the Graffiti was indescribible. It was everywhere. The City solved that one by painting over the markings within minutes of it's appearance. Very soon it was an exercise in futility to spray paint the trains and buses.

The "Artists" would work for a half hour spraying their creations and poof! within minutes the display was painted over. It didn't pay to take the risk of being caught stealing the spray paint anymore. They gave up....